Amid Talk of Regime Change, South Sudan Holds onto Oil Town Heglig, Says
Offered to Help Sudan With IMF
By Matthew Russell Lee
19.04.2012
UNITED NATIONS, April 17 -- Amid reports of the South Sudanese forces in
Heglig being joined by a range of Sudanese rebels seeking to overthrow the
Omar al Bashir government, Inner City Press on Tuesday asked US Ambassador
Susan Rice if this had been mentioned in the day's Security Council briefing
by Thabo Mbeki, and what the US thought of the presence in Heglig of the
Darfur-based rebels of the Justice & Equality Movement, now with weapons of
the Gaddafi government of Libya.
Ambassador Rice replied that "there was discussion in the context of
Mbeki's briefing, about the perception in Khartoum that the South's
objectives are regime change, and he reported indeed that the North has said
that if that is so, their objective is now also regime change."
As Inner City Press exclusively reported after Mbeki's and his fellow
panelists' last closed door briefing of the Security Council, members of the
Council heard that South Sudan thinks that without oil revenue, the Bashir
government could remain in power for only eight or so months.
That was after South Sudan stopped pumping oil, denying Sudan an oil
transfer fee. Now with the takeover of Sudan's largest remaining oil field,
Heglig, the timetable may be getting shorter.
Ambassador Rice continued, "One would hope this is rhetoric, and not the
object of either side... Both sides have provided support to proxies in each
other's territory, it has continued in both directions and needs to end, as
we [the US] have said on a national basis, and as the Security Council has
said on an international basis."
South Sudan's charge d'affaires Agnes Oswaha, for her part, told the Press
that "we leave regime change to the citizen of the continuing state of the
Sudan, if they want to change the regime."
Inner City Press asked Ambassador Oswaha to confirm that that her government
has shot down a Sudanese MiG 29 jet, something that the UN which has an
expensive peacekeeping mission in South Sudan was unable or willing to do at
Tuesday's noon briefing when Inner City Press asked.
Yes, Oswaha replied, there were MiG 29 jets "hovering, we shot one of them
down, that's the reality... There are Antonovs, the situation not safe, we
try protect our citizens."
Oswaha denied that the goal of taking Heglig was to "punish Sudan, which
lost already one-forth of the oil... That wasn't our intention. We offered
them $2.6 billion as a transition grant, offered to help with theirdebt,
pursuing their debtors, the World Bank or the IMF to help with that
process." To which we will be turning next: watch this site.
******************************************************************
UN Has Nothing on New Sudan Fighting, As IMF Welcomes S. Sudan
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 18, updated 4:28 pm -- As at least 22 more Sudanese
and South Sudanese soldiers were killed by what the two sides call the Bahr
al-Arab or Kiir River, respectively, the UN in New York had nothing to say
about the fighting, despite having a "peacekeeping" mission in South Sudan.
Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund held a ceremony to welcome South
Sudan as its 188th member, with an initial IMF quota of $189.3 million.
Only yesterday South Sudan's representative Agnes Oswaha told
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/sudans1imfrc041712.html> Inner City Press
her country had offered to help Khartoum with the IMF, for debt reduction
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/sudans1imfrc041712.html> that has yet to
take place despite the loss of oil revenue first to independence, now to the
occupation of the Heglig oil fields.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been away in Europe; his deputy
spokesman Eduardo Del Buey at Wednesday's eight minute long noon briefing
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ban1answers041612.html> took only four
question, none on Sudan or even Mali, where the military junta arrested two
more civilian politicians.
Ban was supposedly "closely watching" coups in Guinea Bissau as in Mali
-- but before, he sent his envoy Oscar Fernandez Taranco to essentially give
his blessing to the coup in the Maldives. So who is watching whom
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ban1answers041612.html> ?
The four questions put to Del Buey concerned Alexander Downer's
recommendations to Ban on Cyprus (virtually no answer, Ban won't speak to
press), Egypt barring multiple candidates based on their parentage (no real
comment despite Ban "closely watching North Africa"), Iran and Syria.
On Syria, questions will be answered by previously top UN Peacekeeper
Jean Marie Guehenno and not the current one, Herve "The Drone
<
http://innercitypress.com/un2drones032712.html> " Ladsous. Why?
Inner City Press has submitted to Del Buey and Ban Ki-moon's main
spokesman Martin Nesirky
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ban1answers041612.html> three question and
will report the answers as they are received:
Any Ban Ki-moon response to or comment on the Mali junta arresting the
Democratic Alliance of Mali's Kassoum Tapo and Tieman Coulibaly of the
Democracy and Development Union?
What is the UN's / UNMISS' knowledge of and comment on the deadly fighting
between South Sudan and Sudan by the Kiir / Bahr al-Arab river, near Mairem?
On safety, is the UN Medical service physical present with an office in the
Secretariat / General Assembly building and if not, why not? And, does the
UN Medical Service cover contractors who work in the UN, like the audio
technician who apparently had a seizure on April 16, Aramark, etc?
Watch this site.
Update of 4:28 pm - Four hours after publication of the above, this was
e-mailed out:
Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Mali
The Secretary-General expresses his concern over the renewed wave of
arrests of high ranking public officials in Mali at a time when numerous
efforts are being undertaken to assist the country in overcoming the various
challenges it is facing. The Secretary-General calls for the immediate
release of all those arrested and urges the junta to refrain from any
further actions that might undermine the effective restoration of
constitutional rule in the country. These arrests are in contrast to other
welcome developments that constitute important steps towards the full return
to constitutional order, such as the appointment of Mr. Dioncounda Traoré as
interim President of Mali and his decision to nominate Mr. Cheick Modibo
Diarra as the interim Prime Minister. The Secretary-General calls for the
military junta to promptly complete the full transfer of power to civilian
rule.
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Thu Apr 19 2012 - 06:35:43 EDT
